Okay, so this weekend’s race calendar isn’t as jam-packed with action and adventure as some recent weekends this month. But trust us—there’s still plenty of multisport fun to be had!

Let’s start with the big dog: the classic Florida swim-bike-run, St. Anthony’s Triathlon in St. Petersburg. Once again, this early-season Olympic-distance contest draws a stacked international field from myriad distances. When else can you see past Ironman world champions do battle with Beijing-bound speedsters?

Highlighting this season’s professional start list is Colorado’s Matt Reed, who just scored the second spot on the U.S. men’s Olympic squad with his scorching win at last weekend’s Olympic Trials in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Aussie Olympian Greg Bennett and Beijing hopefuls Andy Potts and Brian Fleischmann will also be tough to beat in their choice distance. Then from the long-course world comes some serious heavyweights, most notably 2007 King of Kona Chris McCormack and 2005 Ironman world champion Faris Al-Sultan, while multi-distance stars Craig Alexander and David Thompson will make runs at the podium.

The women’s field isn’t any less foreboding, with Olympic dreamers Sarah Haskins and Becky Lavelle representing the U.S. short-course contingent and Canadian long-course phenom Samantha McGlone looking to stir up trouble. You certainly can’t count out Ironman 70.3 world champion Mirinda Carfrae or XTERRA world titlist Julie Dibens in St. Petersburg, either. Meanwhile, iron gals Lauren Jensen, Nina Kraft and Dede Griesbauer will try to upstage their fleet-footed sisters.

While the three-sport studs go ‘round in the Sunshine State, the nation’s top duathletes clash at the USA Triathlon duathlon national championship in Richmond, Virginia. The Colorado trio of Jimmy Archer, Ryan Ignatz and Derek Kite will try for the men’s title, while up-and-coming multisportster Marlo McGaver of Duluth, Minnesota, will shoot for a women’s medal.

And of course we have some World Cup action to report, although across the planet in Tongyeong, South Korea. While most of the American short coursers are staying home this weekend, the Tongyeong BG Triathlon World Cup has a fairly meaty start list. The most head-turning entrant isn’t one we usually see at draft-legal start lines—2007 Ironman world champion Chrissie Wellington makes her World Cup debut Saturday after several months of training in the Southeast Asian heat. Five-time World Cup winner Samantha Warriner of New Zealand should find a place on the podium, along with Canada’s young Kirsten Sweetland, making her 2008 World Cup debut, and Lauren Groves, who just took silver at Mazatlan.

For the men, it’ll be Olympic silver medalist Bevan Docherty of New Zealand and 2006 ITU world champ Tim Don of Great Britain scrapping it out with 2008 German Olympian Jan Frodeno and four-time World Cup winner Rasmus Henning of Denmark.

As always, InsideTri.com is your place for all the results and recaps!